McXal's Reviews

Volume 37 was a really consistent and easy to watch show that I really enjoyed…and it’s a testament to the depth and quality of the SHIMMER roster right now that this line-up feels like it could be even better. Ayumi Kurihara is back in a dream main event against Ayako Hamada which got Joshi fans buzzing as soon as it was announced. The Knight Dynasty were outstanding on their debut earlier in the day, and are rocketed straight into the Tag Title picture to challenge the new champs, the Seven Star Sisters. That’s not all – Sara Del Rey and Christina Von Eerie go at it again, the dethroned former Tag Champions Portia Perez and Nicole Matthews step back into tag action to face their great rivals Serena Deeb and Jessie McKay. Dave Prazak and Portia Perez once again provide commentary for the action taped in Berwyn, IL.

It feels like The Haze hasn’t worked too many high profile singles matches of late. She main evented the first show and was a staple of the main event scene in the early years of this promotion, but has seen her prominence wane over the last few tapings as injuries have caused her to miss as many shows as she’s worked. That’s why her terrific outing with Serena Deeb on V37 felt like such a breath of fresh air. Daizee was back, and given her history as a carefree, somewhat wild chance-taker inside the ropes, her performance was astonishingly measured, thoughtful and skilful. She did lose though, so will be desperate to beat one of the newest members of the SHIMMER roster in Rush. Her SHIMMER career stands at 0-1 thus far after dropping a match to Mena Libra at V37.

Courtney seems enamoured with Daizee’s chiselled abdomen. She’s not the first person to have their say about Daizee’s body during this time period unfortunately. Haze doesn’t look impressed with her antics at all and repeatedly gives her the disrespectful pie-face treatment. Courtney seems an eccentric personality, but also a smart wrestler. She recognises that she is taller and more powerful so concentrates on trying to keep Daizee on the ground where she can control things. It seriously pisses The Haze off…to the extent that starts flailing away on strikes to the shoulders and neck like a toddler having a tantrum. The left arm becomes a target for Haze; kicking and punching at it then using it to haul Rush down into a divorce court. Chickenwing camel clutch applied to do more damage on it. Courtney starts using the arm that Daizee has worked on for several minutes to hit clotheslines though, which is really disappointing. Red Wedding COUNTERED to the Heart Punch (by grabbing the bad arm again). ARM CAPTURE Mind Trip gets 2! Bridging Tiger Suplex gets Haze the win at 07:26

Rating - ** - There was a lot to like about this opening match. Haze gave perhaps her most complete performance as a heel thus far. From her very entrance she was snarling and aggressive, but crucially when she got between the ropes she didn’t play the heel simply by jerking around with the fans, she was a f*cking dick to her opponent as well. Despite the size difference she did a strong, believable job as a domineering bully. Between her individual showing here and the decent singles match with Serena Deeb, she’s had a great day in my opinion. Of course it’s easy to say the best part of a decade later and knowing that Rush/Rosemary would go on to make a decent career for herself, but she does have something about her. I said it on play-by-play; she carries herself like a smart worker. Her personality was a little off-the-wall, and her selling of the arm was absolutely terrible (hence this match only got a 2* rating; it was THAT bad) but even at this stage the raw talent was there. I’m certain she’ll be brought back for more development opportunities.

Man, what does Tomoka have to do to get another main event/feature match on a SHIMMER card? Once again she is right down on the undercard, despite being borderline beloved by the Berwyn fans for her brilliance as a villain. We’ll see more of that brilliance here, with an opponent perfectly judged as a foil for her. James is small, smiley and endearingly tenacious. Her team with Rachel Summerlyn has had mixed success, and tonight she makes her first appearance of the weekend looking to progress her singles career with a win over one of the big-money Joshi fly-ins.

Tomoka sings along to Jessie’s entrance theme (No Doubt’s ‘Just A Girl’) in an adorable moment. James has new IHOP inspired gear which she seems to like almost as much as Nakagawa likes No Doubt. She impresses with her technical skill early on…which Naka acknowledges by biting her in the arm. Jessica hits a hurricanrana, regardless of whether Tomoka wants to cooperate or not – almost knocking Tomoka out in the process. She needs a moment on the floor to recover, but comes back strong by using James’ OWN HAIR to choke her with in a camel clutch. A couple of sloppy armdrags score for Jessie…before Nakagawa punts her in the back and slaps her into a savage single leg crab. She can’t do enough damage to either the leg or the back to nullify James’ speed. It does appear to prevent Jessie from maintaining her grip on a MutaLock though. Perfect-Plex gets Tomoka the win at an awkward 08:46

Rating - ** - The 2* rating I awarded here was almost entirely down to Nakagawa’s character. She made this largely watchable, even if the nuts and bolts of it were a total mess. Jessica James had a really rough match, during which she messed up almost everything. Portia Perez explained on commentary that she’d never wrestled anyone from Japan before so maybe communication was more the issue rather than Jessie’s execution…but basically every big spot she went for tanked. The finish, when it came, felt anti-climactic and something of a mercy kill as it came seconds after James had been working some of the least-convincing submission holds you’ll ever see. Chalk it up as an off-night for James. I believe she’s working her fellow ACW/Texan resident Athena at the V39/40 tapings, so she’ll get another chance to shine.

Daizee Haze comes back out yelling inexplicably loudly into a microphone…in a room where you really don’t need a mic to be heard anyway. She announces that her and Tomoka are putting their team back together…

In my V37 review I compared the new duo of Re-X to Pretty Bitchin’. On the face of it they are very similar teams. Both comprised of popular babyface singles wrestlers joining forces. Both formed after friends decided to attack the tag division. All four tend to be smiling, happy, crowd-pleasers. The question I posed was how do Allison and Leva differentiate themselves from Ariel and Nikki, other than cosplay. Tonight we’ll find out the answer to that…and also find out who edges ahead of the other in the hunt for tag team gold. Roxx and Ariel have more experience as a team, but also come in more fatigued than Re-X after their rough treatment at the hands of the Knights at Volume 37.

V for Vendetta is the inspiration for Regeneration X’s second outfits of the day. Leva cheerily wants to play ‘Rock, Paper, Scissors’ with Nikki because ‘paper beats Roxx’. Nikki smiles and laughs…then kicks her in the stomach as hard as she possibly can. Roxx is a tall and powerful athlete and seems pretty cocky about it as she takes the fight to Bates. Portia Perez is also being brilliantly entertaining on commentary bleating about new teams and how unfair the NINJAs’ Tag Title loss was. So confident are Roxx and Ariel that they even start posing as they beat Leva about the ring. Allison has to tag in, but just when you think she’s going to take a more serious route…she and Leva start working Dr Who comedy spots! Apparently it’s enough to scare Nikki away, but after regrouping with the Portuguese Princess in her corner they both charge the ring and put the boots to Re-X. Bates and Danger retort with Big Bang Theory jokes…because pop culture. Portia’s commentary is stealing this match as she gets more and more angry that none of the films or movies being referenced pay SHIMMER sponsorship. When the joking subsides, Regeneration X attempt stereo wheelbarrows…but are countered into stereo roll-ups and both get pinned at 07:12

Rating - * - This wasn’t really to my taste. In all fairness to the four of them, having been in the audience for matches like this, they are a LOT more fun live than watching on DVD, so I assume this went over well in the building. Sitting through a load of dated pop culture references eight years later perhaps isn’t quite so fun…especially as there was some serious wrestling talent involved here which was largely wasted. I can see the Regeneration X act becoming an essential part of the SHIMMER live weekend experience, but a frustrating one to review. Given that SHIMMER tape four shows in two days, these tapings are pretty intense for workers and fans alike. Getting to throw Bates and Danger out in fun costumes to crack jokes and get people laughing is certainly one way to diversify the in-ring content and give everyone something different. I hope they don’t lose sight of the fact that they are damn good wrestlers too. The most fascinating thing about this match, for me, was the slightly more aggressive attitude taken by Roxx and Ariel. They were rewarded for it with victory too.

This is an immediate rematch to an issue which burned up from nowhere at the last Volume. Del Rey took exception to newcomer CVE’s hopes of emulating her success so beat her out of the locker room, then tried to the same thing in a match between them. But Von Eerie proved herself to be a tough cookie and even managed to scrape a count-out win for herself. It was a major shock to see a debutant earn any kind of win over the first ever SHIMMER Champion…and Death Rey was fuming. She dished out a violent post-match assault and choked Christina out. It means both women enter this feeling like they want some payback. This could get intense…

Del Rey tries to hit Christina with a running mafia kick just like last time, but now CVE swats her away into a HOT bridging pinfall! That was exceptionally close, but Del Rey soon recovers by putting the boots to her in the ropes. Von Eerie doesn’t back down and throws strikes back in the Queen’s direction, so Sara hoists her in the air dumps her down into a Boston crab. Rope run crossbody by Christina COUNTERED with a boot right into her ribs. Del Rey doesn’t even let her opponent off the ground and pummels her with forearms and knees to the head (plus a liberal amount of Mohawk abuse). Mohawk biels send Christina scuttling across the canvas time after time, and she rightly questions referee Carley Rae on why the f*ck she isn’t disqualifying Sara for constant hair pulling. Kicks to the ribs and throat hammer the newcomer next, but still CVE refuses to quit. She swings punches at Death Rey like a maniac…but unfortunately Sara is an exceptional pro-wrestler and simply steps into a cross armbreaker. Von Eerie (just about) hits a tilta-whirl DDT…then tries to choke Del Rey out with a cobra clutch just like Sara did to her on V37. Sara DIVES INTO BUCKLES to break it! Capo Kick into the ROYAL BUTTERFLY! Del Rey wins at 08:41

Rating - *** - Sara Del Rey has done so much for SHIMMER. From putting them on the map with her showstealing match with Mercedes Martinez on Volume 1, to becoming their first champion, producing some of the best matches in company history and so on. More than five years in she remains as important and relevant as ever, and she has proved it at these shows with her ability to instantly make a ‘new star’ in Christina Von Eerie. Let’s not pretend CVE was a nobody – she came in having already worked in major promotions like PWG, AAA and DGUSA – but this was still a hell of a way to bring a talent in. After working a hot angle last time it was crucial they got the tone of the match right here, and I thought they nailed that. From the second Christina countered the same big boot Sara hit her with last time I thought ‘they’ve got this’. It followed a similar pattern, with Del Rey beating the snot out of CVE only for her opponent to defiantly refuse to bow down and keep striking back. For it’s placement on the card this was great (although you’d argue there is still a better match in them). The step up in quality from the first three matches of the night to this was drastic.

Amber Gertner interviews Madison Eagles, who cradles and strokes the SHIMMER Title belt like a pet cat. Not for the first time in her reign, Madison claims that nobody is worthy of a title shot – and certainly not Melissa who has only beaten Athena since being ordered to return to the bottom of the card to earn her shot. She comes across somewhat Gollum…and the night off as nobody is on her level.

Speaking of Melissa, here she is once again ready to do battle lower down the card in her quest to rack up wins and demonstrate her eligibility for another title shot. It’s a big match for Cruise as well. She has been stuck on auto-pilot in the lower reaches of the SHIMMER roster, consistently impressing with her size and power but never really delivering that break-out moment or looking outrageously impressive. I’ve been calling on Prazak to ‘sh*t or get off the pot’ with her, i.e. put her in there with some of the bigger names and see if she can hang. Tonight is that night. Can she bring it with one of the most violent, hard-hitting and aggressive competitors in SHIMMER history? She does at least have the benefit of briefly training with Wesna Busic, who is one of Melissa’s greatest rivals.

Melissa tests Cruise’s jaw with some early strikes…but Melanie pops her right back. The Cheerleader struggles to take the bigger athlete off her feet, so trips her over the top rope instead. Going to the floor turns out to be a bad call as it enables Cruise to start smashing her back and midsection into the railing and ring apron. It’s an impressive showing from Melanie as she continues to hold her own in strike exchanges, uses her brute strength to keep Melissa on the defensive and continually goes back to attacking the back. Perez and Prazak do a strong job on commentary highlighting how unusual it is to have Melissa dictated to in a match like this; further emphasising how well Cruise is doing. MOUNTED FACE KICKS BY MELISSA! CURB STOMP! Melanie blocks the Air Raid Crash with a snap suplex though, once again refusing to let Melissa boss her around. She follows that with the spinning sidewalk slam, dropping Cheerleader hard on her back once more. Cruise goes for broke trying to force her win…but it’s an inexperienced move and proves to be her undoing. TOP ROPE LEG DROP MISSES! AIR RAID CRASH! Melissa wins at 09:53

Rating - *** - Perhaps not as vibrant and obviously star-making as Melissa/Athena from V37, but I definitely thought Cruise stepped up and produced her best SHIMMER performance to date in her highest profile match thus far. The slow pace took the live crowd out of things a little (live reports back that up) but they told a slow, clever and deliberate story of Cruise flipping the script on the usual Melissa vs midcarder match by refusing to be dictated to and actually being the aggressor for long periods. Ultimately Melissa’s firepower, coupled with Melanie’s inexperience, brought Cheerleader Melissa the win – but Cruise definitely proved she is capable of holding her own with the big fish. She also got her tooth knocked out here and kept competing without missing a step, so she’s clearly tough as nails too.

Portia Perez ‘leaves commentary’ and makes her way into the arena, flanked by Nicole Matthews. Both look downcast at the loss of their Tag Titles at Volume 37, which the fans bask in with chants of ‘former champs’ and ‘where’s your titles?’. Portia rants about newcomers having no respect for the veterans of SHIMMER…bringing out her old nemesis Serena Deeb (and her ridiculous tan). She says she is ‘sick of the Canadian NINJAs’, and thinks Portia only beat her in their previous singles match because it was effectively 2-on-1. Apparently there are lots of women in the locker room who want to shut them up (Allison Danger, Leva Bates, Jessica James and Courtney Rush all appear at the curtain to agree with that)…but she has Nicole’s arch rival Jessie McKay on her side tonight as she lays down the challenge to a tag match. Nicole Matthews legit steals the show by calling Jessie a ‘Bella Twin with an Australian accent’. Did she just predict the Iiconics??!!

Tonight Deeb and McKay form a hugely popular alliance to take on their mutual enemies. McKay is involved in a competitive rivalry with Nicole Matthews, having traded great matches and hard-fought wins against each other. Deeb, meanwhile, hates Perez after she called her a sell-out and vocally objected to her being allowed back into SHIMMER after her WWE run ended. Tonight their aim is to kick the NINJAs when they are down (having lost the Tag Titles to the Seven Star Sisters at V37) and shut them up for good. Bates, Danger, Rush and James all stand guard at the curtain to stop the NINJAs from running. 

This starts as a brawl on the floor as Portia and Nicole try to leave but have nowhere to go. Serena literally tears clothes off Matthews in an effort to ensure her chops deliver maximum damage to her. Perez jerks her enemy to the ground by what little hair she has to save her partner before tagging in to loudly taunt Deeb. The NINJAs trap Serena in the ring and utilise their experience as a team to keep her at a disadvantage. Even when Deeb does get a tag to Jessie, Perez is making sure that referee Bryce Remsburg doesn’t see it. The intensity of the dislike between her and Serena leads to them both knocking each other flat on their backs mid-ring…meaning we get tags all round and the Matthews/McKay duo legally in the ring together for the first time. Jessie dominates and levels Matthews with the School Girl Crush… but turns around into a superkick by Perez. Serena and Portia brawl to the locker room, leaving Nicole alone with the Australian. McKay hits a superplex, then the Boyfriend Stealer for another big win over Matthews at 08:36

Rating - ** - From a story-telling perspective this made sense, and I loved the idea of the NINJAs having to pay for the ‘crimes’ they committed during their reign as Tag Champions. Unfortunately the match itself was largely functional rather than exciting. It ticked all the boxes, like the NINJAs being a superior tag team due to cheating, McKay making the obvious fiery babyface comeback, time in the ring for the two respective feuds etc…but the whole thing felt far more focused on promoting eventual Deeb/Perez and McKay/Matthews rematches than it was having a decent standalone tag match. 

Nicole attacks McKay after the match, giving her the Vancouver Manoeuvre then walking away calling her a ‘diva’. Things aren’t done between them.

Without wanting to spoil things too much, this is actually the final SHIMMER weekend to date that has featured Rachel Summerlyn (and Jessie James). Her Wikipedia profile alleges that she quit the promotion because it wasn’t a ‘fun working environment’, which is a little mysterious. She enters this having sat out V37, and fresh off her feud-ending victory over Daffney. Can she back up that with a big performance against the SHIMMER original Latina Sensation? Martinez comes in hurting both physically and emotionally after failing to take the SHIMMER Championship from Madison Eagles in the main event of the last Volume. 

Early thought; Mercedes comes out clapping and smiling which I’m not a big fan of. Personally I’d prefer she’d put over the disappointment at the SHIMMER Title loss a little more. I like that they sell the importance of wins in SHIMMER by exploding out of the gate and both going for a flurry of pinning attempts in the first minute. Both women have a reputation for being hard-hitters, so it makes sense that each tries to keep the early exchanges mat-based to avoid any major strikes. Mercedes lands some first, putting boots into Rachel’s jaw then smoking her with chops and elbows in the corner. Summerlyn is impressive in her ability to survive that and show raw power to muscle her opponent into a back suplex. But when she tries some strikes of her own Martinez shows her big-game experience by immediately taking her down with a spinebuster. Three Amigas next, culminating in a big brainbuster for 2. CLIMBING KNEE STRIKE by Summerlyn! That was a wicked move and it visibly rocks Mercedes. Rachel hops up the ropes trying to land an avalanche Best Of Both Worlds…but instead takes SO long setting it up that Martinez counters her with a TOP ROPE BULLDOG! The Latina Sensation circles her opponent like a shark…but Summerlyn isn’t finished yet and keeps throwing forearms! YAKUZA KICK by Martinez, followed by a brutal sliding facewash. Bull Run COUNTERED TO A GERMAN SUPLEX! Summerlyn wants some kind of Gory Bomb, but it all goes awry and she drops Martinez on her face…which Mercedes does NOT look happy about. She hops up and starts flogging Rachel, then gives her the BULL RUN to take the win at 09:46

Rating - *** - This was not a pretty match at all. At times it was awkward, at times downright sloppy, and it looked extremely gruelling for both competitors to get through. But beneath the slightly clunky exterior this was a real war. The structure was smart, some of the offensive bombs they dropped were savage, most of the big spots they laid out really hit the mark too. I thought they showed a lot of heart and effort to haul a decent match together when for whatever reason they weren’t necessarily clicking. Sometimes wrestling isn’t pretty, and resembles something closer to a scrappy fight – and that’s totally ok. 

MsChif isn’t scheduled to wrestle on this Volume, but is instead brought out to the ring for a live interview with Amber. She doesn’t waste time and demands her rematch for the SHIMMER Title, and derides Madison Eagles for taking the ‘night off’. Eagles doesn’t like that at all and charges the ring trying to attack her…but ends up with a hurt hand after punching one of the spikes on MsChif’s gear. It seems like MsChif’s taunts have had their desired effect, and Madison is putting the title on the line!

The first championship match between these two really divided opinions. Reportedly Madison was banged up and couldn’t necessarily do as much as she normally would…but I thought the match that led to was extremely striking if not necessarily an MOTYC-level contest. It played out almost like a squash, with Eagles delivering one of the most commanding performances a challenger has ever produced in a big title match. It played into MsChif running out of steam at the end of a lengthy title reign, it was a legitimately shocking moment, and Madison’s run as champion has been pretty hot ever since. Having missed time with a shoulder injury, MsChif has had a while to sit and think about where she went wrong last time. The impromptu nature of this defends further puts the ball in her court. Has she spent the time away devising a strategy that could see her beat a champion she so spectacularly failed to defeat last time?

Eagles goes right for Hell Bound, only for Ms to counter with a swinging DDT which sends her careering under the ropes to the floor. Madison gathers her thoughts and marches back into the ring instantly trying to grapple and chain-wrestle with her in the manner which led her to a decisive victory last time. This time MsChif has a counter for everything she tries, finally pissing the champ off so much that her only choice is to dump Chif through the ropes looking for a count-out. When MsChif refuses to be counted out she starts using the railings to rough her up – before finally dumping her against them and laying in some close-range kicks. HUGE Irish whip into the guardrail by MsChif! HURRICANRANA ON THE FLOOR! ROUNDHOUSE KICK BY EAGLES! She uses her long legs to try to snap Chif in half whilst choking her in the ropes. For a second time MsChif counters Hell Bound, but this time gets battered with a sliding lariat by The Punisher instead. Rope-assisted pin gets 2…and aggravates Ms sufficiently for her to land Gateway To Annihilation. Panic Attack nailed for 2. Desecrator COUNTERED TO A BRIDGING WHEELBARROW SUPLEX! The champ wants a brainbuster…which MsChif COUNTERS TO A SPIKE DDT! She landed on her head! Desecrator COUNTERED TO HELL BOUND! Eagles retains at 09:18

Rating - **** - Clearly the best match thus far on the show. It would be easy to criticise Prazak/SHIMMER for tossing a big rematch like this away with no promotion, but I loved the spontaneity of this. I had grown fatigued of MsChif in the main event/title scene so had no great need to see her stay there for another taping as they built to this rematch. I loved how this was done – and it also ensures the rest of Madison’s title reign isn’t dogged by ‘MsChif needs a rematch’ to split fan focus. The last match was such a controlled, measured performance by Eagles…and the brilliance of this was that EVERYTHING about this match contrasted to the last one. It’s impromptu nature meant she couldn’t plan, scheme or methodically dominate. MsChif, who has had months to plan for this moment, had counters for all of Madison’s moves and sequences and was therefore the aggressor throughout; the total opposite to their last match. Last time they met the majority of the action took place on the canvas – this was a wild brawl which went all over ringside. The progression from their V31 match here was pronounced, playing with all the themes they introduced last time in the most devious and exciting of manners. Like their first title match, I expect this will divide opinion. But for me, someone who didn’t want or need a big, overblown, twenty minute typical championship main event for MsChif’s rematch (we had almost 15 Volumes of MsChif main events), I loved what they did here. It was short, punchy, memorable, another totally unique title defence for Eagles, and one that ends with the champ’s glowing reputation further enhanced.

Yes, Saraya and Britani (Paige) Knight really did make that much of a splash when they debuted at the afternoon taping that they’ve gotten an immediate title shot. Having seen the Canadian NINJAs dominate for a period, the SHIMMER Tag Title scene has really started hotting up. There are multiple new teams flooding the new division, and new champs as well after Hiroyo Matsumoto and Misaki Ohata scored an overwhelmingly popular victory over the Canadians at V37. At that same show the Knights made their debut (along with their manager; the returning Rebecca Knox), scared the sh*t out of the Berwyn audience, and scored a controversial DQ victory over Pretty Bitchin’ when Ariel used a weapon that the Knights had introduced. Will the technical proficiency and Joshi sensibilities of 3S prevail here, or will the raw aggression of the Knights prove too much?

The Knights’ entrance lasts as long as some matches, and sees K-NOX completely gas herself with ridiculous dances set to Linkin Park’s ‘Faint’, whilst Saraya nearly goes full Bubba Dudley and starts a fight. They try to have a huddle before the match, but 3S crash the party and get us started with a flurry of kicks. Even when the challengers leave the ring Misaki and Hiroyo are on them with stereo baseball slides. Sweet Saraya appears to want to fight Matsumoto on the floor…and I’m not at all certain she was just challenging her as a distraction. Britani capitalises regardless and starts choking Hiroyo in the ropes, whilst Knox diverts Bryce Remsburg’s attention. The cheating continues, with Saraya full on STANDING ON HIROYO’S THROAT! Ohata comes to the aid of her partner, joining her for a leg drop/Warrior Splash combo on Britani. The future-Paige’s response is to kick Misaki in the side of the head then camel clutch her (with as much unseen cheating as possible). The Knights absolutely assault poor Misaki in the corner, drawing huge heat from the Berwyn fans. Vicious hair-mare’s by Saraya next, performed with such aggression it legitimately feels like she is trying to scalp Ohata. Even if Misaki did get to her corner she’d find nobody there because Matsumoto has become completely distracted chasing Becky Knox around the ring. This is completely chaotic! Boston Crab in the ropes almost snaps Ohata in half. ‘Saraya doesn’t seem to have the same sense of pageantry that Britani has’ – Portia Perez with the understatement of the f*cking century! OHATA DESTROYS BRITANI WITH ELBOWS! And credit to Britani, she takes every one then throws Misaki on her ass before tagging to her mother. The look of sheer outrage on Saraya’s face as Ohata tries a flashy roll-up is a picture…and she treats it with sheer contempt by throwing her out to the waiting Knox on the floor. Bryce doesn’t see any of this because Britani is literally trying to KISS him! Knox and Saraya try to pin Ohata using the ropes…so Hiroyo charges and KICKS SARAYA IN THE ASS! BACK FIST ON BRITANI! ALLEY-OOP SPLASH COMBO! 3S RETAIN! 12:04 is your time.

Rating - **** - This match was completely bonkers, and for my money the best SHIMMER Tag Title Match ever (second or third Volume running I’ve said that). I’m sure the novelty would’ve worn off at some point (WWE hiring Paige meant she only appeared at two SHIMMER weekends) but the Knights channelling the Dudley Boys in ECW and trying to start riots in the Eagles Club is astonishing to watch. It’s such a ludicrous scene, with Rebecca Knox prancing around like a manic on the floor, Britani posing and shouting like the boisterous teenager she was…orbiting around the villainous, seething, vile, hate-filled Saraya who genuinely gives off the vibe that she wants to murder someone. Her look of total disgust when Ohata tried a complex roll-up on her (and flubbed it, because Saraya basically stood there and was like ‘f*ck you’) was such a great moment. The Knights WERE the story of this match. Their seemingly uncontrollable rampage saw them dominate from start to finish, until somehow and by the skin of their teeth 3S nabbed a window of opportunity to retain. Words, ratings and play-by-play text don’t really do justice to this…

The crazy scenes continue post-match. Misaki looks bedraggled and beaten six ways to hell but defiantly celebrates with her belt, provoking the rage of Rebecca Knox who has to be ‘held back’ from fight her too. 

Whilst this isn’t a first-time ever match (they even show footage of them at Volume 36 agreeing to wrestle each other in Japan first – although that turned out to be a tag match), this still remains an inter-generation Joshi dream match. Kurihara is one of the young rising stars of a recovering Joshi scene, whilst Hamada is a veteran of the bygone, more successful era. It’s effectively the new breed meeting the old school here, with Ayumi looking to take down someone she will have looked up to and hoped to emulate as a young wrestling fan. It’s a simple script, but a huge match and a big deal for SHIMMER to get this on their show. 

There is a cautious, respectful and intense vibe to the opening minutes. Hamada has a number of sly ways to assert her dominance over the younger competitor. From sauntering into her half of the ring during the introductions, to fake-outs on lock ups forcing Kurihara to wait for her, then making a point of ‘giving’ her clean breaks. She then offers a ‘test of strength’ but instead dumps Kurihara on the ground and KICKS HER IN THE HEAD! Kurihara has seen enough and trades strikes with Hamada! Ayako didn’t like that it seems, and after another very deliberate clean break tries to take Kurihara to school on the deck. She starts attacking Ayumi’s suspect shoulder like a dick! Kurihara slips on the ropes trying to mount them…but recovers brilliantly to catch Hamada’s arm as she charges, and delivers an ARM STUNNER over the top rope! KICK TO AYUMI’S SHOULDER! Kurihara rides that and mounts the veteran with an octopus stretch to further stretch her arm too. Hamada tries to get drastic and set up her moonsault to the floor…but Ayumi has seen it all before and ambushes her on the apron. APRON DDT BY HAMADA! Kurihara wants to respond with her missile dropkick, but is cut off with a tumbling palm strike by Ayako. FOLDING POWERBOMB BY AYUMI! Hamada is rattled! MISSILE DEATH KICK! HAMADA NO SELLS! SUPERKICK ON AYUMI! MISSILE DROPKICK BY HAMADA! NO SOLD! KURIHARA SLAPS HER IN THE FACE! HAMADA SLAPS HER BACK TWICE AS F*CKING HARD! SLAPS! ELBOWS! DROPKICK BY AYUMI! She climbs to the top for a FLYING SUICIDE DIVE TO THE FLOOR! She tries the same move back inside the ring, only to be crunched with a mid-air dropkick by Hamada. RUNNING BUZZSAW KICK gets 2 for the veteran. She taunts and jeers in Kurihara’s direction, giving her disrespectful knee strikes to the temple to goad her as well. Pyramid Driver countered with an insanely athletic victory roll…into ROLLING CODEBREAKERS by Kurihara. UNPROTECTED DROPKICK IN THE ROPES! The fans are eating this up! Ayumi goes upstairs again for the MISSILE DEATH KICK TO THE BACK OF THE HEAD! FOR 2! URINAGE SUPLEX! HAMADA KICKS OUT AGAIN! AP CROSS DIAMOND! BOTH WOMEN DOWN! They crawl to opposing sides of the ring and slowly drag their broken bodies up using the ropes. In a flash they then charge to the middle of the ring to lay into each other all over again. Wrist Clutch Urinage countered with REPEATED spinning heel kicks by Hamada! AP CROSS! AYUMI KICKS OUT! Hamada is f*cking curious! AP CROSS AGAIN! HAMADA WINS! It’s over at 16:33

Rating - ****1/2 - This may very well be my favourite SHIMMER match thus far, that’s how damn good it was. There were bits and pieces with Hamada’s arm which felt a little superficial and fluffy, but that’s all I could find to stop going to the full 5* on this, as otherwise it felt perfect. The tone was brilliant, with Hamada starting by subtly undermining the young pretender standing across the ring from her, before outright looking to beat her senseless…except Kurihara is one of the leading stars of her generation for a reason and she wanted to beat Hamada’s ass just as badly. She got more and more pissed off at the disrespectful treatment from the veteran and ripped into her with some really savage stuff. The SHIMMER crowd were awesome for this as well, which is testament to their knowledge and the brilliance with which these two performers told and sold their story. You didn’t need to be a Joshi expert to understand what was happening here. They kept upping the tension and drama, and the noise from the fans got louder and louder along with them. I’d need to rewatch the likes of Del Rey/Lacey, Del Rey/Kong and Melissa/Wesna but this legitimately felt as good as anything SHIMMER has ever done. Beyond a shadow of a doubt this was a must-see encounter.

If ever a match deserved a standing ovation it was that one, and the Eagles Club fans duly oblige. Hamada calls for a microphone and with her limited English conveys her respect to Ayumi for the match she just gave her. 

Tape Rating - *** - The first half of this show is a little disappointing, given the consistency of Volume 37. There is some half-decent stuff, but nothing that really captivated me or made me feel like anyone HAD to see it. Up to the three main events, I wasn’t overly sold on the DVD at all. But, those top three matches were all superb. I sense Madison/MsChif will be as divisive as their first match, but I loved it. It referenced their first match well whilst simultaneously being completely different, and delivered on it’s objective which was to make Eagles look an even stronger champion. The Tag Title Match was unlike anything else we’ve seen in SHIMMER. Even the brilliant Joshi girls took a back seat to the bombastic villainy of the Knight Dynasty and Rebecca Knox. I don’t know if what we saw was a fight, a match, an attempt at inciting a crowd riot…but it was a blast and my favourite SHIMMER Tag Title Match ever. And that led us to our inter-generational dream match main event. Ayumi and Ayako tore the house down, delivering one of SHIMMER’s best ever (if not THE best ever) bouts that you truly need to see.

3) Seven Star Sisters vs The Knight Dynasty (****)

2) Madison Eagles vs MsChif (****)

1) Ayako Hamada vs Ayumi Kurihara (****1/2)